“I had no idea that they were going to do an examination. The truth is that I came just to enjoy the party and I was very grateful for the invitation. But everything that is different from my field makes me happy,” he says. Paula Pareto in dialogue with Infobae. The Olympic judo champion, who currently practices her career as a doctor and carries out various gastronomic ventures, was honored in the last award of the Martín Fierro Federal Awards which was held at the Ángel Bustelo Auditorium in Mendoza, with a meritorious statuette for his career as an athlete. And he couldn’t stop crying when he saw the video that reflected his enormous effort to reach the top of his discipline. However, three years after retiring from competition, the Little He claims not to miss anything about his old and demanding life.
—Today when you have to fill in a box with your profession, do you say judoka, medical or gastronomic?
—I say I’m a doctor. Before, perhaps, she called her athlete because she was in competition. But today I am a former athlete. And I’m not a foodie, in any case, I’m an entrepreneur with both the Pareto Gluten Free food and the Pareto Caffé cafeteria. But my profession is medical.
—Maybe she is still linked to the sport from another place…
—Yes, I am the general coordinator of the ENARD High Performance Development Program, which brings together all under-13, under-15 and under-18 boys. So I handle that technical part and I’m happy to be able to do it. We go to different provinces, for example, doing scouting and putting together some competitions. And the truth is that for me it is good, because I am with the athletes who are going to be the future.
—Do you see yourself reflected in them?
—I like to be able to see my beginnings in the kids and give them my experiences, both good and bad, so that they can grow and represent the country in the future. In fact, they are already doing it, luckily, when at their age I didn’t have that chance. And the goal is for them to be able to exploit their potential at the Olympic level and obtain many more medals than those achieved in my generation.
—A few days ago you were in the news for renouncing your scholarship from the Argentine Judo Confederation along with your coach, Laura Martinel, due to the need to cut the number of scholarship athletes…
—Yes, it was a way of trying to contribute what each one can. It is a problem, because there is a budget cut that is known. And I can accommodate myself with my team, collaborating from my side, so that they can provide that subsidy to the athletes who live with it today. That’s it, it was the action that was within my reach. And, thank God, it was resolved and the boys will be able to continue living in Buenos Aires, which is what we wanted with my coach, as we were the two who gave up our scholarships.
—You know perfectly well how difficult it is to be an Olympic athlete, right?
—Yes, I know what it costs and I know the effort they make, that’s why I think this gesture is worth it. I always say that as a team everything is better. Sometimes it is about giving in and, sometimes, about receiving. In this case, on our part it will be giving in to receive the benefits that they give us: the joys of everyday life and what they put into each training session.
—Having been an Olympic medalist and after carrying the flag at the Tokyo Games, what was the moment to retire like?
—In truth, it was a life change that I had already been organizing. Like she was preparing it. I remember that a friend told me: “And now what are you going to do if you don’t compete in judo anymore?” But I had 200 things pending, precisely because my main focus at that moment was training. Obviously, he was studying and already working at the hospital. But since then I changed the percentages in terms of the hours I dedicated to each thing. Today I am dedicated much more time to the medical side and my endeavors. And I am also doing other things at a sporting level, which are taking shape little by little.
-I understand.
—Let’s say that I started doing everything I had in the cat flap waiting. Because I always say that when I do something, I like to do it well. And the truth is that I didn’t have the time necessary at that moment. So, when I left the competitive part and the responsibilities that entailed, I was able to take care of all this that I had pending.
—Don’t you miss the competition?
-No not at all. You know that many times I love being on the other side, from the technical side. I go to competitions and many come and tell me: “You miss it, you want to be there, don’t you?” And the answer is no”. In other words, I start thinking: “I enjoyed it a lot, but just as I enjoyed it today, I already enjoy being on the other side and not having to be there anymore.”
—Don’t you feel that need for adrenaline?
—I think that, when I stopped, I left everything literal: even the desire to compete. Because I enjoyed it, I’m not saying I suffered from it or anything like that. But it doesn’t make me want to go back.
—He still trains a lot and that can be checked on his networks…
—Yes: I keep activating, moving. I think that physical activity is already part of my life and I know that it is something that is good for me. But I can’t say “I train,” because before I trained and I did it four hours a day. Now I move. I say “activate”, although maybe for someone who has never trained it is like a workout.
—Define the hours per day and the intensity that the verb “activate” implies for you, please.
—An hour or an hour and a half at most, it depends on each day as well. Today, as I told you, I have other priorities. But in the morning, whether I like it or not, I do at least an hour of activity. The difference is that before it was a professional obligation, now it is an obligation to myself.. And, depending on how the workday comes about, it can be a gym routine or a bike ride to work, for example.
—I imagine that now you can also relax on an outing with friends and have a few drinks from time to time, right?
—Yes, I don’t drink alcohol, but I relax in the sense of meals. Before, if he didn’t eat a balanced diet, the training he did was like being thrown into the trash can. Or if I didn’t sleep the 7 or 8 hours required to achieve a good recovery, the same thing happened. So, since he didn’t want to train in vain either, he tried to stick to that routine. Today, however, if I sleep 5 hours one day, nothing happens. I may be tired, but I prefer to do this outing with friends that I left behind before.
—Was social life what you had to sacrifice the most in your years of competition?
-Clear. That’s why today I’m winning that and I don’t see it as a problem. Even if I sleep little, I get up, active in the morning and go out. They ask me: “Why didn’t you sleep half an hour more if you went out at night?” Because I like to do both things. Overall, I will sleep a little more the next day and it doesn’t change anything in terms of performance.
—The topic of a relationship must also be difficult for an Olympic athlete. Are you currently with someone?
-I’m not alone.
—And do you want to have children, in any possible way?
—I always say that if it happens and it makes me happy, it will be fine. At some point I thought about having a child. And if someone appears to join me, great too. But today I’m fine the way I am.
—You were visiting Pope Francis recently, what was that experience like?
—We went to a Scholas Occurrentes event, which was created in 2019. And the idea is to start shaping it with people from different fields. I contributed from the sports and medical side, and there were also many presidents of universities from around the world and businessmen. The idea is to add. And educate people beyond a book on mathematics, language or social sciences, so that education is more tactical and quantitative. So that’s what the meeting was for.
—I don’t know if you are a believer, but in general people are moved by contact with His Holiness.
—The truth is that it goes beyond the fact of being a believer or not. I am a believer, but there were people of different religions there and we were all equally excited to meet who today is the figure of God in the world. Besides, he is a very warm person. We were 100 people and, to each one of 100, he shook their hand with a smile and said something to them. With all the pressures, responsibilities and commitments he carries, he took that time. And I valued him a lot as a person also for that gesture.
—You always maintained humility, despite your achievements. Do they stop you a lot on the street today?
—It depends on the time and the moment. I realize maybe that some new advertising is coming out because people greet me more. There I say: “Something is happening”. And after two or three days, I find out that something new came out or that they are repeating an interview. And for me it is strange, because as an athlete I am not used to that and sometimes it seems invasive to me. Still, they always approach me with affection. Someone comes running over there and hugs me. And it is a lot of love, but at first it shocks me and then, recently, I realize that just by walking I can make a person happy. What does it cost me? And that makes me happy.
—Does this also happen in the office?
-Yeah. Maybe they come with some problem, because if you go to a doctor you are not at your best, and they leave with joy. Imagine that I serve athletes and, for them, it is like an extra to the attention they need to know me. But if it adds up, I think it’s fine.
